Bird Junky

B.J.'s TIPS ON TRICKS. Unfortunately some birds are not as bright as others, or worse still not very cooperative for reasons of their own. This is where the breeder trainer has the advantage. It's not that he/she is clever, they just have a far wider choice than the average pet keeper. If you already know your birds favourite treat, keep it just for teaching, this will make it extra special. If you don't know, offer several treats at once & watch him/her. It wont take long. If you have a new bird or birds that have not learned basic Step-up, place a perch in the cage closer & parallel to the bars so all the birds can reach all of a selection of treats you hold up to the bars. Once you have the birds favourite. treat Your halfway home. Second best treat is just as good if it's more convenient for you. I never expect a bird to do anything for nothing. Just one bite size treat Is payment enough. Some birds are clever enough to refuse to comply with requests that offer no reward. My own favourite treat is sponge cake. For a practice session, I sit with a slice of cake & a cup of tea. I trim off 3 or 4 small pieces for training, & eat the rest with my tea, while training is in progress. Many tricks are just budgies doing what budgies do. It's how you set the scene, that turns a bird doing bird things into a performer. As a trainer you must be ready to turn any mistake into part of an act. For instance, some time ago. I had set things up to teach two budgies to play a toy piano. One bird watched as I tried to teach the other to tap the keys with his beak. After the first successful attempt, the bird stepped up onto the keys for another treat. So I moved my hand & treat sideways & the bird followed, side stepping on the keys. This was better than beak tapping. By his third treat he was side stepping up & down the keys. I sent him off to play & called down the other bird, who had been watching the proceedings. When I tapped the piano he jumped on to the side of it & ran quickly right across the keys, for his treat. This was better than my original idea of having two virtuoso's. I gave him his treat, moved him about 2ft from the piano & using the treat as bait I got him to do it again. A mini act was born. First I would introduce the piano player. I suggested that if any one knew the tune about to be played. Please feel free to join in. He did his part, but oddly enough no one recognised the tune. As I put him away with his treat, the stooge would escape & run across the keys. While I told him off, he would run off & do it again & again The young children thought the naughty bird very funny indeed. Well I think that's enough for now. Hope it may help you with your bird. Yours B.J.

Hi Oh my god!!!!! The nuts lied. Your supposed to use a gold wedding ring on a silk thread It has a guaranteed 50% accuracy .Trust me I'm a Sexologist. (part time)..B.J.

Hi You have plenty . Any more & it will be standing room only. Yours B.J.

Hi , personally I would raise it on bricks etc. As for bobbing as you step in, make the door higher. Or as I do, enter the aviary from the inside aviary (shed) This means no outside door to the outside aviary. making it more secure, with less chance of bird escapes. Yours B.J.

Hi. Sounds like it could be a mite infection. Have him checked out. Yours, B.J.

HI I fully agree. When it comes to genetics, only death & taxes are certain

Hi .I suggest you get him a plastic budgie from one of these adult hobby shops. Don't want him turning out ***** do you?Yours B.J.

OOOp's Sorry . That's the reason most sites disapprove of abbreviations Yours B.J.

Hi there. Where ever did you hear about there being different breeding times for various mutations of budgies???? Just curious. It's a fact of life that all mutations of budgies can be bred at any time of the year provided they are in condition & the environment in which they are kept is suitable. Yours B.J.

Hi there. A little problem might arise when you get another bird later on. You may have to keep them in separate cages. Your resident bird might consider the new comer as an intruder in her cage space & blood may be spilled. They could be quite happy together during fly time but it is usually easier to introduce a new hen to resident cock bird. Yours B.J.

Hi there, nobodies perfect & that goes for budgies too. If the above advice doesn't work & I hope it will. It's usually caused by climbing around the gage bars. It could be that your bird may have a little deformity of the tail feathers. Either way there's nothing really to worry about Yours B.J.

Hi Finnie, Yes I know People study genetics. They were at it long before I started back in the 50's & a mathematical prediction is still only an educated guess. Your best bet would be to breed with this pair till you have enough offspring, say 100. Then you'l be able to make your own predictions. Yours B. J. From Neville It is not just an educated guess. It is a mathematical probability. A pair normal budgies would only have to produce one chick of a recessive mutation to prove that they were both split for that recessive mutation. Once the presence of a mutation is proven predictions of the outcome from a pair can be made Your probably right, Nev.. Yours B. J.

I would, I can't help worrying about the birds he still has. Yours B. J.

Hi Can I first suggest that you separate the sick bird. Being bullied can be very stressful to a healthy bird but a sick bird should be quarantined in a quiet warm place. You mentioned an air purifier, but not why you need one? I also think the pellet diet is a little rich for a pet bird.Yours B. J.

Hi I'm surprised the poor bird lived through the beak treatment without going into shock. He must be a tough one to have survived till you rescued it. I think I would have reported it & have the other birds confiscated for such cruelty ... Yours B. J.

Hi Kas Read the splayed post. Now I' m a believer. I only like to give any advice from personal experience. In all my years of breeding I only had 1 chick with this problem. Sorry if I've gone off topic. Yours B. J. PS, What's that warn thing mean.?

Hi again. Books are expensive. & only available from specialist . Far more info on this site. To stop them breeding remove the nest boxes. Yours B. J.

Hi I've often noted this behaviour in my aviaries. It's a stance that means "BACK OFF" but in a pet situation it can be used to get attention, ie. he probably did it at first in its natural context but then he got an unexpected reward. in much the same way that a dog will growl angrily on command to get a reward. B. J. Hi, Yes, he's very tame. I think you're right, he probably wants to play or something So in the wild they can use this to tell other birds to go away. Do they have friendly mannerisms too? Hi The simple answer is yes just as all animals & birds do. As for the rest, some do & some only at mating time. Yours B. J.

Hi. People should really try to avoid putting people emotions & feelings on to other species. Charka aggression was for Pretty Boy to go away which he would have done if he had been able to & did so at the first opportunity. One can't make birds like each other if they don't get on. You say "He didn't seem to mind?" Being bullied is very stressful for any creature, even more so when they can't fly away. He minded all right. "He secretly hated her." Not her personally just her aggression, If you had split them up in adjacent cages when C first showed her disapproval of PB's presents. They might have got along. Sorry if it sounds like I'm preaching Yours B. J.

Hi there, I too favoured raised aviaries. I found life easier to replace the floor with wire netting & use several of those shallow cheap plastic storage boxes as sliding drawers to catch all the dirt.. It worked for me!!! Yours B. J.

Hi Its a wooden false bottom in the nest box with a saucer shape cut-out to stop the eggs rolling about. From the questions your asking do you think your ready to start breeding? Suggest you read a few posts on breeding budgies before you start. okay. Yours B. J.

Hi there, some baby budgies, like all other creatures . Though its more prevalent in the domesticated types can be born with Skeletal Dysplasia, (not sure of spelling) ie. Splayed legs. A congenital birth defect causing to weakness in the hip joints. Providing any type extra bedding ect. will have no effect on the outcome I have read of some birds being cured by binding the legs together with tape, but I have never seen proof that it works. Sawdust is handy for keeping the nest box dry. If you do get S, D, mate the parents to different partners..... Yours B. J.

Hi Finnie, Yes I know People study genetics. They were at it long before I started back in the 50's & a mathematical prediction is still only an educated guess. Your best bet would be to breed with this pair till you have enough offspring, say 100. Then you'l be able to make your own predictions. Yours B. J.

Are you sure that both budgies are males? After 7 years, you probably would know, but I just wanted to double check. Also, longer hours of daylight could be contributing to their hormonal problems. You could try covering their cages for at least 12 to 14 hours per night. Sometimes that helps throw them out of the mood. I agree with Splat. Humping stuff in the cage is normal and nothing to be worried about. The aggression problem probably comes in as a result of them trying to protect their "mate" in the mirror from you, the competition, or from each other. (Another reason mirrors are bad.) It will probably take a long period of no mirrors and long nights to get them past this stage. I don't know if they will ever be safe to live together again. That may just be a compatability issue that has worsened with age. I also have to agree here and disagree with most of the comments made by Bird Junky Hello, Sorry some of you don' t agree with my suggestions but they were offered with the best intention of helping the birds. Mirrors were put in budgie's cages a few years after they were first exported when it was realised that being flock birds. Budgies need company real or not. to interact with. If anyone could show me posts about budgies injuring themselves or committing suicide because of what they saw in a mirror I'll hold my hands up. I understood the two cocks were separated & I still don't think removing his mirror will cure him (not that he's ill) or help himhe wont stop until his hormones settle down. If this coincides with the removal off certain objects from his cage it don't mean it's magic. As for him being to old to breed, that's not quite true. His potency won't be as high as a younger cock but his hormones certainly are as shown by his antics. This goes for your love bird too. Doing a balancing act to relive frustration may lead to injury. Give him something the react with maybe a soft toy. Don't forget you are the one who is keeping them in unnatural conditions. (Cages) Having & making babies is what everything on earth has been programmed to do.It's the only reason we all exist. So its up to you to make sure they pass through this frustrating time of their life cycle with the minimum pain & frustration Oh yes Haru, Loosing feathers at the wrong end to be a sign of old age. Sorry I do tend to ramble a bit nowadays Yours B. J.

The only way to find the genetic history of Finnie & Donovan, is to know the genetic make up of their parents. Their grandparents & their parents & so on way back to the bush . When it comes to colour There's no pure bred Budgies. Having dominant traits will mask odd colours popping up every now & again till you change a mate & end up with a new combination of colours etc. Yours B. J.